


Flower shower

by UpInOrbit



Category: VICTON (Band)
Genre: And I mean a LOT, First Meetings, Flower meanings, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Internet Friends, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:40:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24977806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UpInOrbit/pseuds/UpInOrbit
Summary: “Jonquils,” he mutters, his expression pensive. “They often express the desire for affection returned. Subin, you don’t have to go if you don’t feel ready,” he continues, his eyes softening as he turns to look at him.“I know that, but I really want to do it. We’ve been talking about it for months and I’m so excited. I’m just really nervous,” he whispers, fingers fidgeting with the petals.Or the one in which Subin sheds petals whenever he's feeling excited, and Sejun is the one person who never fails to make him laugh.
Relationships: Im Sejun/Jung Subin
Comments: 22
Kudos: 94
Collections: Lucky 7 Victon





	Flower shower

**Author's Note:**

> To my prompter, thank you for thinking such a wonderful prompt! I fell in love with it when I first read it and it's been great to work with it!  
> To the mods, thank you for hosting this fic fest, I had a lot of fun taking part in it, even if I feared this fic would not be ready on time jsjsjs  
> This is honestly way longer than I first expected it to be, but I hope you'll enjoy it! Thank you for reading!

_You make me laugh until I die_

_Can you think of any better way to choke?_

— _Glory_ , Bastille

_Are you still up for tomorrow?_

Six words, a simple sentence, definitely not worth the inner turmoil Subin's currently feeling. He hasn't even unlocked his phone yet, reading the text from the notifications bar instead, like the coward he is. It's been sitting there, unread, for the last half an hour and, judging by the look of things, it seems like it'll continue to do so for a while more.

Subin puts the phone back on the table and groans into the cushion he's holding, covering his face with it, like it'll protect him from having to answer. He lays there, wallowing in his own misery, until he feels a finger poking at his side. He ignores it the first couple of times, and swats away at the hand the third one, to no avail.

"What?" He grunts, his voice muffled by the cushion.

"What are you doing? Why are you screaming like that?"

"I'm not screaming," he replies, pushing the cushion away. "I'm just... Thinking."

"I didn't know thinking involved so much screaming and desperation," Hanse snorts, jumping over the couch to sit beside him. Subin folds his legs and scoots further up in the couch to leave him enough space, just narrowly avoiding Hanse sitting on his left foot.

"Then you've clearly not been thinking enough," he replies, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Hanse's mouth sketches a smile of its own, before he shoots Subin a more serious look.

"No, but seriously, what was that about? You sounded pretty stressed out."

Subin sighs and shakes his head. He sits up, with his legs hugged close to his chest, and places his forehead on his knees.

"It's nothing, really. Just the same old stuff."

"Ah."

"Stop that," Subin all but growls.

"Stop what?" Hanse replies, the faintest trace of amusement in his voice, and Subin scowls.

"That."

"I'm not doing anything."

"You are, and you know it.”

"What am I doing?"

"You're laughing at me, and my pain."

"I'm not doing that but if I was, which I am _not_ , it would serve you right for all the times you've laughed at us.”

“I should kick you out of here,” Subin grumbles, and Hanse laughs, delighted by his reply.

“You could try, but Seungwoo likes me way too much to let you do it.”

“I could win against him in a fight,” Subin replies, with a smile that’s a tad too smug.

Hanse tilts his head to the side, contemplating.

“You probably could, if you played dirty, but then, you’d have to deal with Seungwoo. Alone.”

At that, Subin sits straighter, and looks back at the door that leads to their bedrooms, before turning his eyes back to Hanse, who nods knowingly.

“Is it that bad?” He whispers, eyes widening in mild horror. 

Hanse lifts a hand and moves it in a so-so motion.

“You _were_ pretty loud before. It took me a while to convince him not to come here and interrogate you, and I’m pretty sure he’s hiding behind the door, listening to the conversation. Seungwoo, come in!” Subin jumps at Hanse’s sudden yell and Seungwoo walks into the living room, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. “Now that we’re all together, spill,” Hanse turns to look at Subin, eyes narrowed threateningly, and Subin sighs.

“It’s stupid,” he starts, groaning into his hands.

“It’s Sejun,” Hanse guesses, causing Subin to groan even more, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes.

“Of course it’s Sejun! Who else would it be?”

“You two are meeting tomorrow, aren’t you?” Seungwoo asks from where he’s standing next to Hanse, his leg pressed slightly against the other’s torso. Hanse doesn’t seem to mind, one of his hands having found its way to Seunwoo’s calf, lazily tracing patterns there. 

“Yeah, he sent a text to confirm it but I haven’t replied yet,” sighing, Subin rolls his neck to one side, then the other, trying to get rid of the tension building up there.

“Why not? I thought you were excited to meet him. He’s all you’ve been talking about lately,” Seungwoo continues with a frown.

“I know.”

“You’ve been talking about meeting him for months,” Hanse adds.

“I know,” Subin repeats, feeling more tired with every second that passes.

“And he makes you so happy! I hadn’t seen you smile so much in a while!” Seungwoo continues, lacing his fingers behind his neck.

It’s almost comical, seeing Hanse’s face change as Seungwoo speaks. Subin would swear he can practically see the light bulb going off in Hanse’s mind as the realization downs on him.

Not taking his eyes away from Subin, Hanse grabs a handful of Seungwoo’s shirt and pulls on it, effectively shutting him up, as Seungwoo looks down in confusion.

“Subin, Sejun is going to like you. He already does,” he starts, but Subin scoffs. 

It’s not that he doesn’t appreciate the sentiment, which he does, he really does, but this isn’t anything he hasn’t been telling himself for the past few weeks, and as the day gets closer, his nerves start acting up.

“I know he likes me,” he starts, cautiously choosing his words. “But he likes the internet me, the one he plays video games and chats with until 3 am. He doesn’t know the _real_ me.”

“He does know the _real_ you, Subin. Even if he hasn’t met you face to face, he does know you,” Seungwoo replies, his face soberer than it was before, and that’s enough to tell Subin he, too, has understood the problem. “He won’t be put off by it.”

“He wouldn’t be the first one,” Subin mumbles as he closes his eyes, dropping his head back until it rests against the couch.

There’s a couple of seconds of silence after his statement, during which he imagines Hanse and Seungwoo sharing one of those silent conversations of theirs, before there’s some shuffling and the couch dips beside him, as Seungwoo sits down between Hanse and Subin.

“Why are you suddenly so worried about it?” Seungwoo asks. Even with his eyes closed, Subin can feel Seungwoo’s boring into his side profile, as if it would be enough to learn all of his secrets and solve all of his problems. “You meet people constantly, and it’s never made you this nervous.”

“Because I don’t care about them,” he admits, quietly, more to himself than to the other two, even if he knows they’re latching into his every word. “I don’t care what they think about me because I don’t care about them but with Sejun… I really do like him.”

His words hang in the space between them until Seungwoo reaches for Subin, curling his arm around Subin’s shoulders and bringing him closer to his side. Subin lets him do it, even if the position is not the most comfortable one and he knows he’ll regret it soon enough.

“Sejun will like you,” Seungwoo whispers against the crown of his head, like he is back to being a small child, clinging to his older brother for support and guidance. “From what you’ve told me, he really likes you and, more importantly, _you_ like him. You’ve always had great eye for people,” he whispers. “It’ll be fine.”

“I really hope you’re right.”

“Of course I am,” Seungwoo replies, a teasing tilt to his voice. “When have I ever been wrong?”

“Plenty of times,” Subin answers with a growl, as he pushes himself away from his brother’s side and sits straight. “You don’t want me to start listing them.”

“Ah, but it doesn’t matter, because I’m right today. You’ll go meet Sejun and everything will be great, he’ll like you and your flowers, and you’ll see you had nothing to worry about. Plus, your flowers are so cute, how could he not like them?”

“You’ve got a whole book dedicated to my flowers, of course you’d find them cute!” Subin retorts, pursing his lips, and trying to get his exasperation under control. He knows it’s not Seungwoo’s fault, and he loves his brother to pieces, but he feels jittery and on edge, and it’s hard to think like that. Breathing in deeply, he closes his eyes and counts to five, before trying to explain himself. “I don’t usually care, but this is Sejun and I’m so excited to meet him, it’d hurt me so much if he was one of those people who look at my flowers and think I’m a freak or something,” Seungwoo and Hanse’s faces darken at that, and Subin remembers all those times they got in trouble for defending him when they were younger. It’s not something he has missed at all. “And I know I can normally control it but… He just makes me so happy and he makes me laugh so much, I don’t know what will happen tomorrow and it terrifies me.”

Casting his eyes down, Subin runs his fingers across the surface of the couch, disturbing the petals lying there. Small, rounded yellow petals fall to the floor with the movement, attracting Seungwoo’s eyes to them.

With a small sigh, his brother bends down, picking some of them up.

“Jonquils,” he mutters, his expression pensive. “They often express the desire for affection returned. Subin, you don’t have to go if you don’t feel ready,” he continues, his eyes softening as he turns to look at him.

“I know that, but I really want to do it. We’ve been talking about it for months and I’m so excited. I’m just really nervous,” he whispers, fingers fidgeting with the petals.

“Okay, then. How about you go out with Sejun tomorrow and we go with you?” Hanse suggests, earning himself equally surprised looks form both brothers. “We’ll be around if anything goes wrong, and we can go pick you up if Sejun turns out to be a jerk. I’m sure Seungwoo would love to give him a piece of his mind if it came to that.”

As Seungwoo nods in agreement, his face completely serious, Subin can’t help but smile, feeling affection bubbling in his veins. Around him, white petals, large and rounded, fall to the ground, and a small smile blooms on Seungwoo’s lips as he catches sight of them. Lisianthus have always been one of his favourite flowers.

“Thank you, but you don’t have to do that. I know you’re going to the movies tomorrow, Seungwoo has been bugging me about that new film for weeks, and you don’t have to change your plans just because of me. I’ll be fine, I swear. It’s just my nerves speaking, but it’ll be fine, don’t worry about me.”

“Are you sure? We don’t mind,” Seungwoo asks him, his eyes boring into his.

“I’m sure,” Subin replies with a nod. “Don’t worry about it, seriously.”

“You’re going to reply to him, then?” Hanse points at his phone, still lying on top of the table, with his chin, and Subin bends down to pick it up.

His fingers hover over the screen for a couple of seconds, before finally unlocking his phone and typing a quick reply.

“Done,” he says. His hands shake slightly as he all but throws the phone back on the table, but none of them comments of the fact, for which he’ll be eternally grateful.

Instead, Seungwoo sits, stretching his back like he’s a cat.

“We were going to play some video games, do you want to join us?”

Hanse’s pained expression at Seungwoo’s suggestion is enough to make Subin throw his head back and laugh in amusement.

“I’ll destroy you.”

“You can try,” Seungwoo replies blandly, like he doesn’t know that’s exactly what will happen.

Shaking his head to himself, a smile still playing at the corner of his lips, Subin follows them both back to Seungwoo’s room. Before leaving, though, he stops to pick up some petals, handing them over to Seungwoo when he turns around to look at him with his eyebrows raised.

“For your scrapbook. It’s the first time I’ve shed jonquils, right?” He replies to Seungwoo’s silent question, and smiles when his brother’s eyes visibly soften. “I really don’t mind, so don’t worry,” he continues, anticipating Seungwoo’s question. “You’ve been the most supportive person with the flowers, the least I can do is contribute to your hobby, even if it’s a weird one,” he says, wrinkling his nose in mock disgust, before ducking with a laugh when Seungwoo half-heartedly tries to punch him in the shoulder.

***

"You're really quiet today," the words make Subin jump in his seat, and he looks up with a slightly guilty expression. 

The eyes he meets, though, are looking warmly at him, a small smile lighting Sejun's face up. Once again this evening, Subin finds himself slightly breathless, the words getting stuck in his throat when he tries to speak, but he pushes through.

"I'm sorry, I was... Thinking," he replies, hesitating briefly.

Sejun doesn't seem to mind, the fondness in his eyes when he looks at Subin enough to heat up the latter's cheeks.

"Don't worry about it, I was just a bit afraid I might be overwhelming you. I've been told I can be a bit too much sometimes," Sejun admits, rubbing the back of his neck, a light blush colouring his cheekbones.

"No," Subin shakes his head for good measure, his voice unwavering. It is probably the loudest he has spoken since they've reached the coffee shop, and Sejun's brows raise in mild surprise, clearly not expecting that. "I don't mind you talking, I... Like hearing you talk," he manages to say, averting his eyes from Sejun's face. "I was just nervous to meet you, but I don't mind it."

"Good to know I haven't scared you yet, then! I was really excited to meet you too," Sejun smiled as he spoke, and Subin replicated it, feeling relieved.

For all that he had worried about meeting Sejun, the actual thing had been easier and harder than expected, both at the same time. 

Subin, as nervous as he had been, had arrived half an hour earlier than expected, and had spent the next thirty minutes pacing around, almost compulsively adjusting his beanie every ten seconds, earning himself some puzzled looks by the people around him. He’d also been nervously checking his phone, worried that Sejun had decided meeting Subin was not worth his time, and had decided not to appear. He knew Sejun was better than that but, still, the wait was eating him alive.

And then, he appeared. Subin didn’t see him at first, only registering a flash of electric blue in the periphery of his vision but, almost on its own accord, his legs turned him around, and he found himself staring at a man, his hair a shade of blue he would have never expected anyone to wear, running like his life depended on it.

Sejun didn’t notice Subin at first, the latter with his feet rooted to the floor where he stood next to a streetlamp. Instead, he almost tripped over his own legs as he craned his neck to look in every direction, his face red with exertion.

Subin had taken a couple of steps in Sejun's direction just when Sejun looked up, and their eyes met across the street. The smile that spread across Sejun's face was almost blinding in its luminosity, enough to knock Subin's breath out of him.

It had always been quite the experience, to see that smile through a screen, but it was even more powerful right then, in the flesh.

It had been more than enough to make Subin forget his words, clumsily replying to Sejun when he had approached him, much to his own embarrassment. Thankfully for him, Sejun didn’t seem to mind, more than comfortable with taking the lead in the conversation as he steered them away from their meeting place and into a nearby coffee shop.

The walk there and the brief pause when Sejun went to buy them both drinks were enough for Subin to regain his bearings, and he’s almost completely back to being himself, even if the words still evade him sometimes.

The shutter sound of a camera brings Subin back to Earth and he blinks, confused, until he sees Sejun holding his phone up, his elbows firmly planted on the table, clearly just having taken a picture. Subin’s mouth falls open and he leans forward, trying to grab Sejun’s phone, but he moves away before Subin can so much as touch the phone.

“What are you even doing?” He asks, feeling dread taking over as a mischievous smile takes over Sejun’s face.

“Nothing,” he singsongs in reply, a melodic sound to his voice.

“You’re clearly doing something on your phone,” Subin replies, trying to look stern even as a reluctant smile tugs at the corner of his lips.

“There, I’m done now, I’m not doing anything,” Sejun lets his phone fall face down on top of the table, and Subin winces at the sound the screen makes. 

Sejun’s lips curl into the most innocent of smiles, but Subin has seen it enough times to know it signals nothing but trouble.

“Did you take a picture of me?” Subin asks instead, mimicking Sejun’s position, his arms crossed in front of his body, slightly leaning forward.

“So what if I did? I like taking pictures, you know that,” Sejun’s smile turns small, even more mischievous than before, and Subin almost forgets what he was about to say.

“I thought you only took pictures of beautiful things,” he replies, taking a sip from his drink, his eyes never leaving Sejun’s face.

“I don’t think I’ve seen anything as beautiful as you today, though. Have you?” Sejun looks around, his eyes wide and innocent even as Subin almost chokes on his drink and starts coughing, his face turning embarrassingly read.

“I—,” he tries to say, but the words won’t come out, not with the way he can’t seem to stop coughing.

Sejun ends up taking pity on him and he scoots over to his side, laughing loudly, to pat him on the back to help him start breathing again. 

Subin’s face and ears still feel unbearably warm by the time he’s back to being able to speak, and the fact that Sejun doesn’t attempt to go back to his seat, instead staying by his side, does not help at all. He tries to think of something, anything to say, but before he can even open his mouth, Sejun beats him to it.

“You’re still a little red in the face, are you sure you don’t want to take off your beanie? Or maybe go out?”

At that, Subin’s hand flies up to brush against his beanie. Truth is, it’s too warm to go around wearing it, and he knows Seungwoo will take great pleasure in telling him so when he comes back, but that was the only thing Subin could do to make himself feel a little more at ease at the prospect of meeting Sejun. Even now, he can feel the petals that are been hidden by the beanie. He can almost picture them, deep red rose petals, for how bashful and embarrassed he feels.

That’s the thing with Sejun, after all. It makes him hard for him to control his flowers, the shedding of the petals one he can barely control.

“Let’s go out if you don’t mind,” he replies after a beat of silence, and Sejun merely nods in agreement. 

If he sees Subin leaving back his unfinished drink, he doesn’t say a word, and Subin will forever be grateful for that.

“I still can’t believe we have met, honestly,” Sejun says as they leave the establishment, waiting until Subin closes the door behind them to start walking.

“Me neither,” he replies. “It’s been, what? Over two years since we first started talking? It’s so weird to finally see you somewhere other than the screen.”

“Two years, seriously? That’s insane, honestly who would have thought,” there’s a faraway look in Sejun’s eyes, as if he’s trying to recall the first time they ever spoke, and Subin does, too.

“Probably not us. My brother thought you were trying to catfish me the first two months he started speaking, he said you had a ‘suspicious face’,” he admits, and takes great pleasure in the way his words seem to surprise him so much he stumbles, before letting out a loud laugh.

“Why would he even think that!? I mean, I understand why he’d fear that, but why my face?”

Pursing his lips, Subin considers whether to tell him Seungwoo’s exact words had been: ‘ _he looks way too handsome to be a real person_ ’.

Before he can do so, though, Sejun stops him with a hand on his arm, as he points in the direction of a big bush of ruses a little to their left. They rest against a wall made of red bricks, covering most of it, and the greenery of their leaves stands out pleasantly against the dull red. Somehow, they’ve found themselves strolling through a park, and Subin hadn’t even realized.

“Can I take some pictures of you with the roses? It’d look really nice, please!”

Subin blinks, surprised.

“Eh, sure, I guess,” he replies, walking towards them as Sejun takes his phone out.

As he reaches them, though, Sejun seems to startle, and stops him again.

"Do you mind? We don't have to do it if you don't want to, of course," Sejun starts putting his phone down, a worried look taking over his face, but Subin takes a step forward, shaking his head.

"No, don't worry! I'm fine with it, take as many pics as you want."

As if to illustrate his words, Subin takes a couple of steps back and extends his arms to the side. It makes Sejun smile, relief written in the lines of his face, and Subin beams back at him.

The next minutes are spent with Subin trying out different poses, each more ridiculous than the last, and Sejun rattling out instructions, moving around as he changes the angle.

"You look comfortable doing this," Sejun notes at one point, a smile audible in his voice.

Subin tilts his head back, eyes closed but for a slit, and grins.

"My brother has spent all my life taking pics of me whenever he can, I guess I've gotten used to it. At least that way he stops uploading terrible pictures of me to his Instagram," Sejun snorts at that and Subin's smile widens.

They spend some more time like that, until Sejun is satisfied with the pics he's taken, and Subin is starting to sweat under the Sun.

As Sejun slowly stands up, his eyes fixed to his phone, Subin turns away towards the shade underneath some trees. There's sweat falling down the side of his neck and pooling at the small of his back, and so he absentmindedly takes off his beanie, and runs a hand through his hair.

"Is there anything you want to do now?" He asks Sejun as he slowly approaches him. 

The other is looking down, blue strands of hair covering his eyes, and Subin feels a warmth that has nothing to do with the Sun, or the heat, but rather one that starts in his chest and spreads through his veins, warming him up from the inside. It has been like that for a while, every time he looks at Sejun, but seeing him in the flesh seems to have made it stronger, and Subin feels so happy, so full of it he fears he’s about to burst at the seams.

“Yeah, I had thoughts that—,” Sejun stutters halfway through his sentence and his mouth hangs, wide open, his eyes staring directly at Subin’s head.

Surprised, Subin takes a step back and raises one hand to touch his face, suddenly feeling self-conscious. It’s not until he does that that he realizes he hasn’t put the beanie back on, and his hair is in full display, as the petals falling softly around him are too. 

There’s the rose petals, a red so deep they look like droplets of blood, but they’re not alone, instead mixing with the soft purple of lilacs.

Subin’s heart rattles against his ribcage when he dares drag his eyes up to look at Sejun, but what he finds is not the confusion that he expected, or the repulse he’s come to fear, but instead a childlike innocence that threatens to undo him.

“Are you doing that?” Sejun asks, his eyes never leaving Subin’s face, as if he were completely unable to do so.

Subin nods, his throat unbearably dry.

“Sort of,” he croaks out.

“It’s amazing,” Sejun replies, wonder colouring his words. “How do you do it?”

“I don’t know,” it takes Subin two attempts before he’s able to speak at a normal volume, feeling restless. “I’ve always been able to do it.”

“Do they have any meaning, the flowers? Or do you just shed them continuously? Wait, no, forget that I’ve asked, that was probably really rude of me!” Sejun slaps a hand against his mouth, the sound it makes loud enough that Subin guesses it must have stung, but it’s enough to bring a small smile to his lips, and more lilac petals to fall, as the nervousness melts away.

“Don’t worry, I’m used to it,” Subin replies, sketching a shaky smile. “They do have a meaning, most of the time. Sometimes I shed multiple types at the same time, depending on how complex what I’m feeling is. When I was a kid, I used to shed them continuously, but there wasn’t much variation. As I got older, though, I managed to control it better, and then flowers were more diverse, as I experienced more complex feelings.”

That’s what Seungwoo and his parents have told him, at least. His brother had taken a look at baby Subin, laying on a bed of flowers, and had taken it to himself to understand what each flower meant. He had taken a large book and spent countless hours sat by his side, inspecting every little petal until he found the perfect match, and then had spent even more hours deciphering the different meanings. 

Every time he found a new type of petal, he’d add it to a small journal he carried everywhere, where he would stick one petal to the page, as well as he noted down the time and day in which Subin had shed it, it’s meaning and the reason behind it. He still kept the notebook, safely tucked away in his bedroom, along with two others he had slowly filled throughout the years.

“It’s amazing,” Sejun says then, and his eyes shine so much Subin can almost believe him.

He’s never been too fond of the petals, if he has to be honest. And it isn’t because of the people who have pointed at him over the years, laughing at the kid covered in flowers.

As time went by, he managed to find a way to stop the shedding, at least when he’s in public. It’s easier to control when he’s calm, and even if he’s sad, or angry. When the emotions he experiments are on the more positive side of the spectrum, however, control slips through his fingers like water, like happiness makes him lose the hold he has on his ‘ability', and he doesn’t even realize it’s happening until there are flower petals everywhere, a cheat sheet to whatever Subin’s feeling.

He hates the idea of being so easily read, his emotions on display for all of those adept at the flower language. It doesn’t matter how many times Seungwoo assures him there aren’t those many people who can do that, or that the flowers can barely scratch the surface of Subin’s feelings, it still makes him feel on edge.

“Don’t you think it’s weird?” The words slip between Subin’s lips before he can catch them, and he regrets it the moment he sees Sejun wrinkle his nose and frown.

“Maybe a little? But not the bad kind of weird, the good kind, the one that makes you unique,” he replies, the smile returning to his lips. “They suit you,” he continues, catching Subin by surprise as he looks up, and finds Sejun staring closely at him. “They’re almost as pretty as you are.” Subin’s cheeks heat up once more, and more rose petals fall around him. Sejun sees them, too. “I wonder what these mean,” he says with a teasing tilt to his voice, like he already knows the answer.

_You should see my bedroom floor whenever we’re talking_ , Subin almost says, but he manages to reign it in. There’s no reason for Sejun to know just how much he makes Subin lose control, how he makes him laugh so hard, feel so happy, he doesn’t even realize the petals are falling around him until they stop talking, and he finally takes his eyes away from the screen, only to find his bedroom completely covered by the petals.

“Maybe one day you’ll know,” he says instead, and Sejun smiles even wider.

“I hope I do,” they stare at each other for a second longer than needed, none of them willing to look away first. “You can put your beanie back on, if you feel more comfortable that way,” Sejun finally says.

Subin feels like he could burst any moment, and it takes him all of his self-restraint to manage to keep the shedding to a minimum.

“I don’t think I need it anymore,” he replies, as he puts the hat away.

The smile never leaving his lips, Sejun waits until he’s ready before they resume their walking.

***

_I had fun, we should do it again sometime!_

Subin is rereading Sejun’s latest text for the umpteenth time since he replied to it (in enthusiastic agreement, suggesting to meet up the following week, hoping it wouldn’t sound too eager) when he receives an Instagram notification. Slightly surprised by it, he opens it and what he finds makes him sit up on his bed, mouth hanging wide upon.

He’s taken over Sejun’s whole feed, his Instagram plastered with pictures he’s taken of Subin, both with him aware of the camera, and not. The last one he’s uploaded is one of those he’s taken of Subin standing in front of the bush of roses: his body is turned away but he is facing the camera, his eyes and nose scrunched by the smile that has taken over his face. It’s probably not the best photo Subin has taken of him that day, but the happiness he radiates can be felt through the screen, written in every line of his body, in the light that he seems to emit.

The caption is brief, much more so than the others, but Subin finds himself breathless, his face heating up as he reads the tiny “meeting you was worth the wait (and everything else <3)”.

Subin cradles the phone to his chest, his face almost hurting by how wide he’s smiling, his pillowcase covered in petals of daisies and white heather.

***

Hanging out in Subin’s room soon becomes a common occurrence, one that makes Subin immensely happy, even if all they do is laze around, much like they’re doing just now.

“I guess many people have asked you this but, if you had to give me a flower, which one would it be?” Sejun rolls around on his back, tilting his head back to look at Subin. 

There’s a small smile grazing his lips, one that is almost shy, as he asks, and Subin once again feels warmth spreading throughout his chest, a fire that travels through his veins, setting him alight. He thinks of a conversation with his brother, not too long ago, in an evening very much like this one.

_“When do you want to have dinner?” Seungwoo’s head pops in as he opens the door, the rest of his body following suit. Subin doesn’t take his eyes from the screen, fingers flying as he types out his message._

_“Whenever you want to,” he replies. He expects his brother to leave his room after that, but Seungwoo stays, eyes fixated on Subin, lying on top of his bed._

_“You’re talking to Sejun right now, aren’t you?” Seungwoo suddenly asks._

_Subin let’s out a low hum, typing the last of his reply, before looking up._

_“How did you know?”_

_“I think he has one now,” Seungwoo replies as he approaches the bed and bends down, picking something from the floor._

_Standing straight, he extends his arm, opening his hand to show some petals lying on his palm.There’s a mix of them, white daisies lying on a bed of light-blue delphinium, and a few lilac-coloured petals scattered around, to which Subin turns a blind eye, pretending not to see._

_They’re fairly common, though, and that’s how Subin knows they’re not what Seungwoo is talking about. Instead, he’s talking about the last type of petals sitting in his palm: they are white, and bigger than the ones Subin usually sheds._

_Subin feels his cheeks grow warm as he recognizes them._

_“Gardenias,” Seungwoo mutters, more to himself than to Subin. “So, you think he’s lovely?” He teases Subin with a mischievous grin, leaning forward to pinch Subin’s cheeks the way he knows he hates it. Subin tries to get away with a groan, pushing Seungwoo’s hands away with a glare, and Seungwoo laughs, delighted._

_“Shut up!” Subin continues to glare in his brother’s direction, even if he knows his face is bright red by now, diminishing the effect._

_“Okay, okay, I will shut up. Your secret is safe with me. For now,” Seungwoo replies, a dangerous glint in his eye, and Subin searches around for something to throw in his direction. The cushion hits the wall beside Seungwoo with a soft thud, and Seungwoo dives to catch it before Subin can retrieve it, and starts walking backwards towards the door. “You do know it’s great he makes you this happy, right?” He asks, fondness shining in his eyes as he looks at Subin. He nods, slightly embarrassed, and Seungwoo smiles. “I hope you invite him over sometime. I’d like to know the person who’s made you so happy.”_

“Subin?” Sejun’s voice as he softly shakes his hand breaks him free from his reverie, and Subin blinks, shaking his head. “Are you still here?”

“Of course I am,” he replies with a huff. “I was just thinking,” Sejun hums in reply, a glint in his eye Subin doesn’t quite know how to read. He turns his head to look through the window, instead of at Sejun. The Sun is setting, painting the room in orange and golden hues, making Sejun shine in them. It takes Subin’s breath away. “Gardenias,” he says then, so softly he thinks at first Sejun hadn’t heard him until he replies.

“Gardenias, huh? I wouldn’t have guessed that, but they’re a nice flower, I like them,” his words are accompanied by a blinding glint and for a moment, Subin forgets how to breathe. 

The rest of the evening is spent playing video games, with Sejun whining loudly every time he loses, and Subin shouldn’t feel so endeared by his antics, but he does, laughter bubbling in his chest, loud and clear and impossible to suppress.

And if, after Sejun has left, Seungwoo sees him dusting away the tulip and anemone petals scattered around his bed, his brother says nothing, as Subin says nothing when he finds white heather lying on his pillow the following night.

***

Subin is about to lock the door to his building behind him when he hears the telltale sound of loud footsteps behind him, a clear sign that someone is running at full speed down the street. Still, knowing it does not lessen his surprise when he turns around and sees Sejun right behind him, bent down as he tries to catch his breath.

“Sejun? What are you doing here, I thought we were meeting up in half an hour!? Are you okay?”

“Sunflowers,” Sejun manages to splutter, his voice almost breaking, completely ignoring Subin’s questions.

Subin blinks, confused, even if his heart starts picking up its rate. His hands are turning clammy, but he ignores them, pushing them deeper inside his pockets.

“Sunflowers?” He repeats instead. If his voice comes out a little more strained than usual, none of them says anything.

“You didn’t ask yesterday but if I had to give you one flower, it would be sunflowers,” Sejun replies, pink dusting across his cheeks, eyes bright. “I looked them up when I got back home,” he continues, and Subin swallows, his throat suddenly dry. “The flower meanings. I think you’re lovely too,” he explains, and Subin feels the urge to turn around and bolt, but his feet are firmly rooted to the ground, refusing to move, and so he has no choice but to stand there as Sejun continues to talk, “but I adore you more than anything else.”

Sejun looks like he wants to say something else, but it’s then that he looks up and stares at Subin’s eyes, and his words seem to leave him. Instead, he extends his arms all of a sudden, pushing something against his chest.

It’s not until Subin looks down that he realizes Sejun was holding a bouquet of flowers behind his back. The bouquet doesn’t seem to have fared well in the trip from the florist shop to Subin’s house, but none of that matters to him as he extends his shaky hands to wrap them around the bouquet.

Tulips. Ranunculus. Hellebores.

“I know giving you flowers might not be the most original thing, and you might be sick of them but—,” Sejun is rambling in the background and Subin barely hears him, focused as he is on not crying.

The bouquet is beautiful, red and orange tulips paired with ranunculus of similar shades, with mauve and deep purple hellebores scattered throughout the arrangement, but, as beautiful as the latter is, it’s not what’s gotten Subin’s attention.

_Perfect love or a declaration of love. Radiant charm._

Carefully, as carefully as if he feared it was going to break, Subin sets the bouquet on the floor. That is enough to make Sejun stop talking, and he looks at Subin with nervousness, his eyes weary, even as Subin smiles, unable to keep his grin from spreading through his face.

“Thank you,” he whispers, his voice almost choked. “They are perfect. Thank you,” he repeats, taking a step closer to Sejun.

“Do you like them?” The weariness in Sejun’s eyes melts away into something softer, fonder, and Subin’s heart goes into override.

“I love them,” he replies, blinking rapidly. “Can I?” He asks, and Sejun nods, once, twice, as if his words have left him.

Subin leans in, his lips hovering above Sejun’s just for a second, before Sejun leans in too and bridges the space between them. Subin wraps his arms around Sejun’s shoulders, his fingers closing in around the hair in Sejun’s nape, bringing him closer still.

“So I take I didn’t read this in a wrong way?” Sejun asks when they part, sounding almost breathless, his hands on Subin’s waist, his cheeks red.

Subin lets out a laugh in reply, and leans in for another kiss. 

For once, he doesn’t mind the way the space on which he’s standing is covered in flowers.

**Author's Note:**

> So, the meaning of the flowers included in this fic (I'm so sorry there's so many of them, I just run with the idea and didn't even realize until now)  
> Daisy — cheerfulness, innocence, purity  
> Gardenia — purity, sweetness, secret love, convey joy, tell the receiver they’re lovely  
> White heather — wishes will come true  
> Sunflower — pure thoughts, adoration, dedication, warmth,  
> Tulip — declaration of love  
> Ranunculus — Perfect love  
> Hellebores — radiant charm  
> Lisianthus — gratitude, charm, and an everlasting bond  
> Jonquils — desire for affection returned  
> Rose (deep red) — bashful, embarrassment  
> Lilac — first love  
> Delphinium/larkspur — lightheartedness and vivacity
> 
> And [here](https://www.brides.com/thmb/7uZSMBOKZS4EOFc9Cb-_GOD67YY=/800x0/filters:no_upscale\(\):max_bytes\(150000\):strip_icc\(\):format\(webp\)/__opt__aboutcom__coeus__resources__content_migration__brides__public__brides-services__production__2016__10__25__580ec4073ba43a015ebef4bb_2015_bridescom-Editorial_Images-03-Bouquets-with-Tulips-Large-Tulip-Wedding-Bouquets-Rachel-Foster-Photography-08e86858007d42a7932d49bfe746e3b1.jpg) you can find the image of the bouquet I used.  
> I hope this was a satisfying fic and hopefully not too confusing?? I loved the idea and before I knew it this was a 6k monster that had appeared out of nowhere, so I hope it was at least nice to read!  
> To my prompter, thank you for such a wonderful prompt and I hope this made your idea justice! I'm afraid I haven't been able to make this is as funny as you maybe have had in mind when you thought of it but I'm not a naturally funny person and my exams put an end to any creativity on that regard, so I'm really sorry about it :( Still, I really enjoyed writing this, so I hope you've enjoyed reading it too!  
> Thanks again to the mods for hosting such a wonderful fest, it's been a pleasure to write for it!  
> Big thanks to all of you who have reached this too, and I hope to see you again soon!  
> Comments and kudos warm my heart <33


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